"Hurry up!"
I groaned. It was Kelly voice, but she wasn't talking to me so I attempted to roll over and go back to bed. All I wanted to do was sleep a few more hours!
"Emma's going to kill us!" Tara cried. I sighed and rolled back. It was no use. Tara never used Emma's real name. She always called her the pledge mistress or the bitch. She must really be upset to use Emma's name.
The first thing I noticed was Tara and Kelly scrambling for clothes. Lee lay awake on the other bed. He was grinning.
"They're late for their initiation," he said.
"No we're not! It's only ten fifty-five," Kelly snapped at her brother.
"You've got five minutes," he added, still grinning.
"Jerk!" she replied with a nasty look. I was still a little bleary eyed, but it really was funny watching Tara and Kelly throw on their clothes so haphazardly, or at least it would have been if they didn't look so upset.
"Relax," I sighed. "The stupid sorority is lucky to get you too." Kelly quickly leaned over and kissed me.
"Thanks," she said. "I'll see you later." The two ladies dashed out the door in record time. I'm sure they ran the entire way. Lee and I exchanged looks.
"One hell of a night," I said.
"You said it," he replied with a grin. I rolled back over.
"Goodnight," I sighed.
"Later," Lee replied as he shut the light and crawled back under the covers.
I woke up to someone shaking me roughly. I could hear a female voice speaking, but I couldn't understand what it was saying. It took me a moment to realize that it must be Sarah speaking Hebrew. That wasn't a good sign.
I opened my eyes and saw my cousin's roommate standing over me. Her boyfriend Richard was with her. So was Tara's sorority big sister, Toni. She was grinning at me and shaking her head.
"I'm glad you had a good time last night, but if you don't change the sheets on my bed immediately, I'm going to kill you," Sarah said with a forced smile. Lee started laughing on the other bed.
"I've seen her temper. She's not kidding," I said. Lee laughed harder. Toni came over and gave me a quick kiss hello and then waved to Kelly's brother.
"Hello, Lee," she said. Both ladies seemed to know Lee already. That saved me an introduction, but not Sarah. She introduced Lee to Richard.
"Hello," Lee said. Richard nodded.
"How are the pledges doing?" I asked, changing the subject. Toni grinned.
"You almost got your cousin and Kelly kicked out of the ceremony. They were three minutes late," she said.
"What happened?" Lee asked. Toni shrugged.
"Really, not that much. Emma gave them a nasty look, but didn't say anything."
"Who's Emma?" Lee asked.
"She the pledge mistress," I replied without thinking. Toni looked at me carefully.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"I've got a good memory," I replied carefully. She didn't look like she was completely buying it, but she shrugged.
"You guys have about two hours to get dressed and meet at the sorority. They're already sisters, but they can't leave yet," Toni said, and then grinning added, "Actually, make it two hours and a half. Tara and Kelly said something about taking a shower and getting cleaned up before the party."
"They really did just roll out of bed, throw on some clothes and run to the sorority," Lee said.
"Yeah," I grinned. "For a moment there I thought they were going to skip putting on clothes! They were that afraid of what the pledge mistress was going to do to them if they were late."
"Emma's really not that bad," Toni laughed. They were obviously friends.
"That's not what Kelly says," Lee added, causing Toni to laugh harder. Everyone joined her.
"My sheets," Sarah said pointedly once the laughter died down.
"Okay," I sighed. "I'll get dressed and take your sheets to the laundry if everyone would just leave the room for a moment."
"I'll see you later at the party," Toni said with a wave as she slipped out the door. Sarah turned her back instead of leaving the room.
"I'm not looking," she said. "Get going." Poor Richard didn't know what to do, but eventually he decided on standing next to Sarah. They were both looking out of the window, Sarah impatiently. I looked at Lee, smiled and shrugged. He and I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. I stripped Sarah's bed as she watched over me. Lee laughed again.
"You might as well get that one," Sarah said to him. He stopped laughing, sighed and took the sheets off of my cousin's bed. I did my best, but I couldn't help it. I laughed.
We put the sheets in the wash down the hall. Lee left to get cleaned up for the party. I took a shower and then threw the sheets into the dryer. Lee and I met for an early dinner. We spent the whole time swapping stories about Tara and Kelly.
"You really do love her, don't you?" he asked after a brief silence.
"Yes," I replied. "I can't really explain it, but it's like we were meant for each other."
"She feels the same way," he said with a smile. "I'm happy for you both."
"Thanks," I said, and then asked, "What about you and my cousin?" He hesitated.
"I don't know really. She and I are going to have to talk soon," he replied. We fell silent and finished eating.
"We have to stop by the laundry room for the sheets before going to the party," I reminded Lee.